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Crime, Law and Justice
Mathew Holding Eagle III
Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Updated:

Becker County judge considers restitution challenge in Nicole Mitchell burglary case

A woman in a courtroom
Minnesota Sen. Nicole Mitchell listens to the closing arguments of the state during the fifth day of her felony burglary trial on July 18 at Becker County District Court in Detroit Lakes. To the right of Sen. Mitchell are her attorneys Matthew Keller, Dane DeKrey and Bruce Ringstrom Jr.
Anna Paige | The Forum

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Becker County Judge Michael Fritz said Wednesday that he will consider former state Sen. Nicole Mitchell's challenge to how much she should pay her stepmother as restitution for breaking into the woman’s home on April 22, 2024.

A jury convicted Mitchell on two felony burglary counts in July and Fritz sentenced her to 180 days in jail last month.

Fritz also ordered Mitchell to pay restitution to the victim, Carol Mitchell, for financial losses caused by the crime, including costs incurred by moving out and later back into her home, as well as damage caused by the break-in.  

Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald contends that amount is approximately $26,318.03. Her defense has challenged that sum.

An affidavit signed by Nicole Mitchell earlier this week cited several challenges to the sum requested by Carol Mitchell for restitution. 

The first challenge was to Carol Mitchell’s apartment costs. After the crime, Carol Mitchell moved out of her house so that her home’s security could be upgraded. According to the affidavit, Nicole Mitchell believes that under case law the move was not a loss “sustained … as a result of the crime.” 

So, instead of owing her stepmother the roughly $21,000 requested, Mitchell contends she owes nothing. The affidavit goes on to add that if Carol Mitchell is to be compensated for the apartment the amount sought is too much.

Mitchell also questions why Carol Mitchell rented a two-bedroom apartment when she would be living there alone. And she argues the move should have only been for about three months — the amount of time it would take to add security protections to her house — not the nearly 10 months Carol Mitchell lived at the apartment.   

Another challenge relates to the cost of replacing an egress window Nicole Mitchell used to break into her stepmother’s home. Pictures shown at trial indicated that parts of the window were already damaged from age and rot. So instead of being held liable for replacing the entire window, Nicole Mitchell argues she should only have to pay back the cost of the screen. 

Fritz is expected to rule on the matter in the coming days. McDonald, the prosecutor, said he needed to wait for the court’s ruling before commenting on the matter.  

Mitchell resigned from her seat in the Minnesota Senate after her burglary conviction.